A Flawed Design
by Unitedstatesofwhatever
Summary: "People aren't perfect, this a generally accepted fact, so when fate has something planned for people they sometimes stray of their path to happiness and end up hurting others. That's where we come in, we help give people the nudged in the right direction, whether it be in the form of a passing 'Hello' or giving our love to them. Remember our words: We do our duty." Sansa/Stannis


**A/N:** Right so I'll make this as quick and painless as possible, as this is probably going to be the longest story I've ever written and the first one I ever posted for public viewing, I would like to request that you lovely chick-a-dees post reviews to help improve my writing. I have no idea if this is going to be any good but I'll put a few chapters up and see where it goes. Also as a warning this chapter has only OCs in it right now but don't worry the story is not about them, I just have to set the stage before any of the fun stuff starts.

**Disclaimer**: I swear on both my honor and my families' honor that I, _in __**no way shape or form **_take credit for _**any**_ recognizable characters, quotes or references, and will not try and sell this for profit. It's all just fun for my soul. Like cookies.

* * *

The first thing Major Zo "Roe" Monroe noticed upon waking and slowly coming to was the dryness of her throat and the disgusting morning breath taste that filled her mouth. The second was the horrible thundering that pounded inside her skull that threatened to rip it open. Groggily Roe waited a few more moments before trying to move. However this soon proved to be problematic as one, she couldn't feel the rest of her body other than that everything _hurt_, and two she found she really didn't want to move because she was cacooned in warmth that just felt _so good _compared to the rest of the world that was freezing.

Where was she anyway?

That thought got her trying to move again as her combat instincts began to flood her system with adrenaline. However the pure exhaustion combined with the fact that Roe still couldn't feel the difference between her fingers and legs just ended up with some weird jerky worm like movement. Oh wait her eyes were closed still. Opening them would probably help, huh?

Slowly she opened her eyes as she broke the seal of eye crust that had formed while she had been sleeping and her vision filled with white. Turning her head to the side Roe realized that it was a pillow and that the cocoon of warmth was a luxurious bed, surrounded by stone walls. There was a large window positioned across from her and the bed, which was opened to reveal the large bright blue morning sky and to be the source of the chill in the air as it let a fresh crisp breeze fill the room.

Roe tried wiggling her toes and fingers to regain feeling, sucking in deep breaths of air, her lungs chilling on the inside to help the process along. It worked quickly as Roe continued to take in steady deep breaths, feeling her limbs once again. After finally chasing away the numbness that had plagued temporarily plagued the twenty five year old, she carefully brought her arms up from their position at her sides and pushed up on the feathery mattress. Suddenly though blinding pain shot up her side and through her weak and struggling body. Gasping she collapsed back onto the bed clutching at her side in desperation at a pathetic attempt to stop the pain.

Finally, once the pain subsided, after a few more moments Roe slowly unfurled from herself and gradually turned over to her uninjured side, carefully lifting the heavy covers so as not to agitate the apparent wound. Looking down at her side she saw that the wound had already be expertly wrapped tightly with gauze. However the problem was was that she didn't remember how she even got it. She certainly didn't remember being deployed recently.

And _where _was she?

Roe finally began to well and truly realize the danger of her situation , not knowing where she was and being grievously injured. Gritting her teeth, prepping herself for the inevitable pain, Monroe pushed herself up again and quickly but carefully swung her legs long legs over the edge of the bed. Stopping at the edge the woman bent over, tears forming in her eyes while she gasped and clutched at her side. Riding out the waves of pain the best she could with her tired body, Roe opened her eyes to take in the room around her so that she could keep her mind away from the pain.

Although blurred behind the tears refusing to fall, she couldn't but gape in amazement at the room she found herself in. Immediately she was reminded of the many rooms in the old and musky castles in the many European countries that she used to visit with her family. The room was huge but had a sparsely anything in it, with a large wooden writing desk that sat stiffly beneath the window across from the king sized bed Roe was situated on. In the middle of the room stood two plush loveseats with a low coffee table in front of an massive unlit marbled fireplace with a deep red Persian rug underneath. However the thing that caught her immediate attention was the beast of what could only be a tapestry that hung proudly above the fire place.

Carefully depicted within the fine threads of the tapestry was looked to be a… dinosaur? Maybe a, what's it called, spinosaurus? Anyway the beast was wrapped possessively around… nothing, but the way the tail, claws, and feet were circled around the small center must have meant something was meant to be placed there. Like the room around it everything was made out of red and white with hints of black.

That was another thing unlike the ancient castles dotted around Europe, which looked like they hadn't been lived in for years, this place seemed to be well used and well lived in. Speaking of which she certainly didn't remember walking in here, so someone must have brought her there. That thought set off another wave of unexpected panic, which left her reeling trying to calm down.

'Ok slooooow down there girlie, think before you act.' Roe thought passively trying to keep a grip on the raging emotions and instincts. Usually she was much calmer about things. Yet every fiber of her being demanded that she get the hell out of Dodge and ask questions late, but Roe had no idea where Dodge even was right now and she had to contended with the mysterious wound.

'One thing at a time, just breathe,' gulping in more of the deliciously fresh air, Roe stood with great struggle and began to shuffle slowly towards the window on unsteady feet, leaning against the sparse furniture when she could. Tears once again rose to the surface of her eyes as the feeling of what she recognized to be stitches, pulled harshly against each other in protest of so much movement.

However years of combat training and experience drove her forward at the thought of her life being in danger. Finally she reached the opened window and shove her head out.

She quickly wished she hadn't.

Wherever the heck she was it certainly wasn't Florida. Beneath her like a colony of ants were men and women hustling and bustling as they went about their work blissfully unaware of the storm of confusion and disbelief that afflicted Roe. They were dressed in medieval style dresses and pants, not a single pair of jeans, or shorts, or t-shirts, or anything modern to be seen. But that wasn't the really strange part; it was the environment that the people were working in. Roe once again found herself struck speechless, and found that her comparison to the castles in Europe to be spot on, the place was a castle and a very large one at that.

The main part, that is the castle its self, seemed to be carved out of the mountain side the castle was nestled against while great outer walls erupted from the small valleys natural walls to cover the only opening to the castle. Within those walls were more sets of inner walls, the inner most one bordered what she assumed to be a court yard. She couldn't tell what the rest of the walls separated or how many there were due to her vantage point, however she had the most miraculous view of the sky that was bordered by the jagged cliffs of the mountain in a way that made her feel almost… safe. She could also see that what the castle lacked in width made up for in height easily and that there were random pockets of steam coming up from everywhere. What they were or where they came from Roe could only guess.

A loud clinking noise drew Roe's gaze back down to the muddy courtyard, which Roe found strange that there were no paved roads. Looking around the courtyard that could have held two football stadiums, Roe searched the shops and workplace making the peculiar sound. Finding it Roe saw that it was a black smith hammering away at- where those swords?

Suddenly Roe was hit with horrible sickening feeling that caused her to pale and shove roughly away from the window, completely forgetting about her wound and the mahogany desk she bumped into a sharp corner with her hip bone painfully causing her to trip on her own feet and land clumsily on the stone floor with a dull thud.

Arching her back in an unnatural way Roe gasped and gritted her teeth painfully as the tears that continued to form in her eyes finally fell.

"Ar-GAH!" was the one thing that was able to make it's way across her lips, withering on the floor pathetically. Sucking in air harshly through gritted teeth to try and regain her lost composer again, the major tried focusing on something else.

'ok, ok, think! It- its gotta be some sort of renaissance festival and I must have gone to it but then I fell or something," she tried to rationalize, but still that argument sounded weak. For starters Roe was pretty sure there were no castles made out of mountains in the US, and even if there was there was still her wound. And she had more than enough combat experience to know by feeling that the wound on her side was way too serious for her not not be in a hospital. Maybe there was a doctor on site to help stitch it, but still she should've been at a hospital or on her way to one by now. Then there was the fact that there was no food, no music, no beer. Wouldn't be much of a festival without food and beer.

Ok so she might have been kidnapped by some crazy cult who thought they were in the dark ages and were going to sacrifice her to some dragon god. She scoffed condescendingly, that would be just her luck.

But still a _castle_ made from the side of a _mountain_?

Sighing dejectedly she came to the conclusion that she was going to have to wait until someone remembered to come check on the special operations soldier sitting in some old dusty tower.

Heh she quoted Cheetah Girls… those movies were stupid.

Whatever, Roe was down with that, it wasn't like she was going to get far on her own with her bad side. She was just going to have to sit and wait and be patient like a good little girl. And if Roe was anything it was patient.

…

Except when driving, she had a really bad case of road rage.

* * *

After a great and epic struggle that would be sung about for futures of generations around the world Zo Monroe finally managed to climb her big ol' butt back into the gigantic thing that was the fluffy bed. Now she sat twiddling her thumbs (literally) looking around the room awkwardly trying to find something to keep her mind away from the headache and pain in her side. Really there was nothing else that she hadn't noticed in her first inspection of the room except for the large wooden door on the fourth wall that she wasn't even going to consider opening with injury. Huffing Roe decided that while she was patient this was sorta a life and death situation for her and thus required a little push in the right direction.

So she sucked in a deep breath of air and began belting, "THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS," obnoxiously until someone came to check the barren room for a dying animal. No really, Roe was sure that she was the worst singer ever, her voice broke on high notes, on low ones she sounded like gorillas having sex, and on the normal ones her nasally voice ripped all the happiness from the world

Unfortunately for the rest of the world she liked to sing, and very loudly and proudly too.

Roe stared at the door going through the entire song at least eight times all the while preparing herself for whoever or whatever was going to come through. She hoped they wouldn't be too annoyed.

'Ooookkkk people lets goooo my throats starting to die! I swear these people have some bad room service! I could bet-,' her inner tirade (and "singing") was abruptly cut off when the monster of a door flew open and slammed into the stone wall so hard Roe feared briefly that the entire room would cave in.

"WOULD YOU STOP THAT NOISE! I don't know what in the seven hells it is but it sure sounds like the dragons have returned and are starting to repopulate in my castle!"

Staring in shock Roe took in the figure that she sure as hell didn't expect to come bursting through the door. It was a woman who was getting on in age, her graying hair pulled up into some complex and ridiculous up do that involved braids somewhere in there. On her face a little too large nose rested that reminded Roe of a bird beak and underneath said beak was a set of thin lips that looked like they were in a permanent frown. However if one were to merely glance at her no one would notice these things as they would be immediately taken in by the most beautiful pair of eyes Roe had ever seen. Both wide and round, the shadowed lids framed a vivid set of emerald green orbs, they seemed to be able to suck your soul out of you.

The woman was tall and thin, however, whatever curves she did posses were accentuated by the light rosie red dress with a white corset that traveled up the woman's long graceful neck and then flared out and the base of her chin. She also wore dark red hopping over sleeves and a black minx scarf wrapped eloquently around her thin shoulders.

Everything about the woman screamed that she was bred to be nobility. Of course that mannish pose that she was in kind of destroyed that entire image. From when she came screeching in her long bony finger was still pointed accusingly at Roe and her legs spread out wide reminding Roe of a football or rugby player.

Wait did she…

"Did you say dragons returning?" Roe's throat protested at the sudden use. How long had she been out?

Roe titled her head to the side and drew her eyebrows together in confusion. Dragons couldn't be returning, they would have had to exist in the first place.

Dear God, she was just kidding about the whole crazy cult and dragon god thing.

The older woman seemed to return to the present and quickly almost as she was ashamed drew herself up, back straight, clearing of throat, and hands clasped to together like a lady, completed the image Roe had formed of her in her head. Amazed, impressed and a little envious of the complete transformation from mad woman into a lady of nobility, Roe waited in stunned silence for her elder to explain exactly what the hell was going on and exactly what was going to happen Roe herself.

Taking a small breath through her beak of a nose, the woman seeming to gain strength from it, stuck out her flat chest almost arrogantly and began.

"My name is Lady Milinda Aethelwine and you are currently being housed in Castle Dawn, where my servants and I have been nursing you back to health."

Oh god the woman sounded like Cruelle de Vil. She even acted like it.

Lady Milinda waited somewhat impatiently with her nose in the air while Roe let her thoughts roam on where to go next with their conversation.

'Ok start small," Roe decided.

"Alright Ms. Aethel-,"

"_Lady_ Aethelwine, please," Milinda interrupted without batting a single perfect eye lash to correct the major. Nodding her head in acknowledgement Roe continued, "I apologize, ma'am, Lady Aethelwine would you mind telling me exactly how I got this injury?"

Lady Milinda's eyebrows furrowed in what Roe was pretty sure exasperation as a questioning look appeared on her face.

"You do not remember?"

"No ma'am, I remember who I am and all that really important stuff I just don't remember how I got here, the last thing I remember is…" the younger woman trailed of as flashes of a firefight and then a searing pain in pain in her head flooded her memory. So she _had_ been deployed then. Licking her chapped lips Roe continued, "I was in a firefight."

"A firefight, my lady?"

Ignoring the strange way she had been addressed, Roe raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Yeah , y'know with guns 'n stuff? I'm a soldier." Roe explained slowly as if talking to a child (she might have well been, her mother always said the older you got the more childish you became, "regressing" she would tell her daughter). Apparently this lady wasn't old enough as she seemed to pick on the condescending tone Roe had used with her as a light red crossed her cheeks and she sniffed indignantly.

For some reason Roe had a feeling this lady had no idea in hell what a gun was.

Suddenly a look of realization appeared on her face quickly followed by an indignant look and then a light scowl. Sighing Lady Milinda turned her soul crushing gaze back onto Roe.

"May I come in, my lady?"

"'s your house ma'am."

"_Lady_," the elderly woman reminded her impatiently.

She shut the heavy door quietly for more privacy, slowly striding stiffly across the room, she walked to the opened window to gaze out blankly, her mind obviously somewhere else. Roe felt her stomach drop as another one those feeling contacted her and told her that whatever words that were about to come out of Ms. Aethelwine's mouth were going to royally screw Roe's life over.

"I had been walking outside the castle gates as I normally do when the weather is pleasant like this," she gestured toward the sky, "when a small group of bandits descended upon my guard and I. They had managed to cut me off from my guard so I had no defense and I was sure I would be slayed. However before they came within striking distance you came into the clearing we were in screaming… screaming… well some rather vulgar things at the men and then I believe you called yourself a man," her beak crinkled in disbelief at the memory. Roe had a pretty good idea what she had screamed.

"Anyway you were obviously disillusioned from that cut on your head, you had it before you jumped into the fight, so I assume it was from your… firefight," Roe raised her hand to her head but instead of meeting her silk like strands of hair Roe's finger tips meat the rough feel of gauze. That explained the headaches.

"You had provided enough distraction between your screeching and throwing yourself on top of the bandits for my guard to dispatch of them quickly. However somewhere in the chaos you had collapsed after taking a blow to your side. I felt indebted to you, so had my guard carry you back to the castle where my families' maester was able to help you."

"Ah," Roe mumbled while processing this, "well I guess a thank you in order _Lady_ Aethelwine."

From Roe's angle she could see Milinda's thin lips rise into a small smile.

Well that was one question down. But there was something… off about her demeanor. Almost as if she wanted to ignore something but knew it had to be dealt with, something Roe could relate to.

"And Castle Dawn, where is that ma'am?"

She hefted a great sigh as she prepared herself for the inevitable, but what that was Roe had no idea. When Lady Aethalwine turned back around with a stony expression Roe knew whatever it was it couldn't be good.

"Lady…"

"Major Zo "Roe" Monroe"

Milinda said nothing about the strange name but raised a arched eyebrow, other than she didn't move a wiry muscle.

"Lady Monroe," tested the name out slowly, tasting it for the first time, "this… world is not the same world you come from, there are no "guns", there are no firefights, there is no… what is the country… America? Everything and everyone that was in your world does not exist in this one. There are swords, there are lords and ladies, there are kings and queens, there are giants, and there were dragons. Creatures of fantasy in your world are nightmares in this one. They are dangers that you will earn how to cope with or die trying and I shall be your teacher."

…

Roe could do nothing but gape in stunned silence, what could she say? She had just been told that her world essentially did not exist for her and that everything she had been taught to be a fairytale was actually real and could kill her.

…

Slowly a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

She broke out laughing. Roe laughed so hard that her side had just reopened, she could already feel the blood start to trickle down her side lazily.

"oh oh oh that hurts, I mean, I mean, oh God and you were so serious too! Damn lady you're a good actress! Oh that's fuuuunnnyy!"

Roe finally settled down enough to look up at "Lady" Milinda. She wished she hadn't.

On her face was a stormy expression that could destroy buildings just from one glance of her raging green eyes. Her eyes seemed to glow as the lids around the around them narrowed dangerously into thin slits, and boy if looks could kill… then that beak of hers seemed to turn into an eagles beak while the manicured nails gleamed menacingly transformed into talons right before Roes very eyes. Roe briefly remembered the warden from Holes with her poisonous fingernail polish. The young woman worried for a second if anyone could actually put rattlesnake venom in their nail polish.

Lips that pursued so tight together that they were almost nonexsitant, Milinda thundered toward the soldier surprisingly fast, causing Roe to back away as fast away she could sensing the on coming threat, but not making it far as her bleeding wound paralizied her in pain. Gasping when Milinda grasped her chin tightly but not tight enough that Roe could yank her face out of her hold if she needed to, like a mother gripping her child's face to gain their attetention, Milinda shoved her face into Roe's.

"Listen here girl and listen good. You were sent here for a reason and that reason is to protect the people of this realm. In a few years time things are about to get very messy very quickly and you are going to defend the weak and protect the innocent and that is only the beginning of your duties. I have had a vision of you and future. You come from a state called Georgia, your parents and sister died in a crash between two moving pieces of metal, you traveled your world and as such you are adaptive and understanding two things many people in this world lack, you are soldier and _actually care _about people. You have never shied away from doing your duty if it meant protecting the people who could not protect themselves. Don't start now."

Wide eyed and amazed Roe could only gape and stare in stunned silence at the woman who essentially summed up her life story, a woman she had never even met before now. Her doleful gold eyes turned to the tapestry, for some unknown reason, somehow she felt connected to it. Gazing at it with her mouth still hanging slightly open Roe's mind finally started to connect the dots. The castle, the people, the room, Milinda herself; the way she talked and acted. This couldn't be some elaborate scheme to make her spill sensitive military information could it? Hell they were in a castle that looked like freaking Gondor.

When Milinda saw the look of reluctant acceptance taking hold of Roe's face she gently relised her own hold and sat down on the bed.

"Bu-but _how_!? I can't just suddenly travel to another world-universe-realem-what-whatever this! As far people in my world know it's physically impossible we just don't have the tech to do it! And why me? I'm not even the greatest soldier around, there are plenty of other guys way better than me! And what about my world, my country, I have a duty to them, I can't just up and leave! Oh and what about my friends? My team? And think of all the pa-"

Roe could feel herself starting to hyperventilate as this inconceivable notion that she was in another _world_ was just insane. Maybe that was it she was going insane from all the stress that was her life and this fantasy crap was her way of coping.

Crazy people don't know there crazy…

And all of this just felt so _real_.

She was panicking Roe knew it but she couldn't stop she jus- how do someone deal with this kind of thing? All of the sudden Roe felt a slightly wrinkled hand place on her own callused one, looking over Roe saw that it was Lady Aethelwine, an expression of pity on her face something that Roe expected to be rare and the closest thing she could get to warmth. None the less the confused soldier appreciated the attempt at comfort. "Look at me child," Milinda urged patiently, and Roe felt her dazed drifting gaze float back to the older woman.

"While I do not pretend to know the workings of fate, it happened and in time you will learn that is all you need to know. I also know that your world does not operate the same as it does here but this world has magic therefore different things are achieved her than from your world and vice versa. And why not you? You care about people and that is what matters most, not your skill. Your world will not collapse without you, people are strong, you know this, and they will survive without you. Right now you are needed here. Would you deny a people who will soon be placed in the throes of chaos?"

Studying Milinda as intently as she was studying her, Roe shook her head 'no', these people would need her (for whatever reason) soon and Roe was too soft hearted for her own good, she knew, people always told her so, to let them face the oncoming storm without protection. And she be damned if she didn't tried her best to provide it. With her panic gone Roe gnawed at her lips in thought.

"Ok I'm going to do it… it's just… I don't know _how_. I don't even know anything about this world!"

"Oh child, that is my duty. I will give you the all the skills and tools you need to carry out the challenges before you. We have enough time before the strife hits this land and you have to recover before you can really do anything first. Speaking of which I must fetch Maester Wyll, it would seem that someone's wound has reopened."

Lady Aethelwine stood quickly and her noble facaded slide back into placement walking briskly towards the door all the while. Right before she fully opened the door however she turned slightly back around to give her new addition to the castle, who was dress in nothing but underwear, a once over.

"I will send you your new handmaiden as well with some freshly made clothes for you to put on. Oh and while you wait for my return, try and think of a small object that best represent you."

Confused Roe questioned, "Why?"

"So something can be sewn onto that," she pointed at the tapestry, "the poor dear has been so lonely up there for the longest time."

"You mean the Spinosaurus?"

Milinda titled her head, "Is that what you call them? Here they are called the Timber Beast. You will soon learn more about them."

Roe formed her lips into a small 'o' shape. Though she was confused. Again.

"But why does a symbol have to be sewn up there?"

"Because you are now the daughter and only heir to the noble house of Aethelwine, who my husband and I have kept hidden away from the rest of the world for your own protection, and this is your new room. But don't worry dear we'll add more furniture to it at a later date when your fully healed. I'll return shortly." Milinda curtsied before turn sharply turning on her heel leaving a shell shocked Roe behind in her wake.

Sitting in her new gigantic bed, Roe knew she probably looked rather pathetic as she tried to (and failed) figure out what she had done to the Big Guy Upstairs to make herself the butt of his jokes.

Wait-she had a _vision_?

* * *

**A/N:** So should I continue? Or just give up? Remember try to leave helpful and constructive reviews like, if my characters were Mary Sue-ish, bad grammar, the whole making up a house thing was stupid, or something that wasn't clear just tell me and I'll try to do better on the next round. Also any and all flames towards myself or any readers will be deleted and the flamer will be blocked. If there was _anything _that one of you peeps thought was disrespectful or offensive about what I've written please tell me and I'll see what I can do. Plus if there was anything about the house or the two people I've got so far that seemed really similar to the original houses/characters in ASOIAF tell me. I want to know this stuff people.

That is all, thank you.


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